Alex and Ani Labor Day Special

Shop Eco-friendly fashion from the Alex and Ani store online.

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I'm so infatuated with these bangles at the moment. Check some more styles of Alex and Ani charmed arms I posted about last week here.

Let the Long Weekend Begin

I couldn't be more excited about this 3-day weekend. Labor day weekend last year was spent with friends at a beach condo lounging on Florida's west coast.  This year I've opted for a go-with-the-flow kind of weekend with hopefully lots of R&R.

 

So what's been going on with me this week? 

Well our bank account got compromised. That's always fun, right? On Sunday, I went online to check our balance to see what damage was done over the weekend and also figure out a budget for the upcoming week. I noticed a charge on our account that didn't look familiar but since K and I share the account, I don't always know what's being spent 100% of the time. K didn't seem to recognize the charge but I went along with my day thinking I was just going crazy and forgetting something. A few hours later, I signed back into my account so I can rack my brain a little more about this charge but instead I saw some more charges being racked up over the past few hours. We hadn't even left the house on Sunday. Something was definitely wrong because both of our cards were safely in our wallets! We called the bank to report the charges and found out someone an hour away was swiping our card away on a little shopping spree...that would be a fake card with our info. The most recent charge was $85 at a sushi restaurant but got declined because they had pretty much drained the account. This person has some f#ing nerve! Anyways, our bank was really helpful and worked with us and we should be getting back the money in a week or so. Thankfully! It's really quite scary how easily these people can just hijack your bank account and access your money.

On to some better things and joining Amanda and Lauren for their Friday Linkups.

Oh technology! Ordering lunch and paying the tab via an iPad at Carmel Cafe. This almost eliminates communicating with a server except for ordering drinks/water and the server running the food to your table. Not sure how I feel about technology replacing jobs but I do like seeing photos of menu items to help with the ordering process.

Outfits that transition from work to happy hour. I actually wore this several weeks ago when I met up with Kate and Pam for happy hour.

I caved and bought the Alex and Ani bracelet of the month. The seahorse bangle was calling my name and I wanted to get the $5 discount before they discontinued the offer. Having an A&A store a few blocks from my office is proving to be trouble.

Favorite funny: 
I am guilty of this and having zero patience on the road.

Happy hour beer is calling my name so 5pm needs to hurry it up! Two of my favorite beers this week are Sea Dog Blueberry and Kona Island Lager.

Enjoy the long weekend!!!

eShakti Summer & Print Dresses

Hi everyone! 

Today I wanted to share a new online clothing store that contacted me recently to review their products. The cool thing is that they offer a wide range of sizes from 0 to 36W and their clothes are customizable. Their clothing comes in a variety of styles including feminine, boho chic, contempo, formal, casual, and so on.

I chose the tie-dye print cotton tank dress because it's colorful and the material is very thin and breathable for hot summer days in Florida. You can also customize the measurements and the length.

I'm no fashion blogger nor have a professional camera so forgive me if I look totally awkward and for the blurry photos.

 

 

This is a sponsored post by eShakti but all opinions and style choices below for summer are my own.  I was provided the above dress for free to share with my readers.

Some cute summer and print dresses from eShakti that I have my eye on: 

Check out eShakti for more dresses and cute offerings for sizes 0-36W. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

They've also been nice enough to give my readers a 10% off coupon code valid now until 09/09/2014. Coupon code = martinisbikinis

FYI:
Code has to be entered in the 'promotion code' box
Code can be used any number of times until Sept 9th, 2014.
It can be used with other other promotional offers, gift coupons or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.
The discount code is not applicable on clearance/sale items, gift cards and overstock categories.
Not applicable on previous purchases.
 

Dry Shampoo: Favorite Picks

Batiste remains my favorite dry shampoo after trying a variety of other brands to see if there was anything better out there. Nothing has compared to Batiste in terms of effectiveness, texture and smell. Why do I currently have 3 bottles of dry shampoo? For $8.50 a bottle you really can't go wrong, however you can get it even cheaper at Marshall's for about $5.99 so I stocked up on a couple bottles while I was there over the weekend.

I liked all of the scents I've tried so far so I don't have a favorite in mind but you can find a ton of different ones including fresh, fruity and floral scents to match your preference. They also have dry shampoos specifically for blondes, brunettes or red heads.

Some other dry shampoo brands that I've used (and not liked) are Herbal Essences Naked, Not Your Mother's Clean Freak and Suave's dry shampoo. They are either too sticky, do not provide enough body or just smell bad.  The Herbal Essences dry shampoo is my most recent purchase. I tried it only once and liked the smell but didn't like the texture it made my hair feel and look so will never use it again. It's a shame to waste a full bottle so I'll probably give it away to a friend or anyone that wants to try it and see if it works better for them.

Any any other dry shampoos out there known for working really well?

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

**We'll be taking a break from the recipe swap for the next two Tuesdays (09/02 & 09/09) due to the long weekend and some travel plans lined up. Hope you'll come back to join us on 09/16.**

I've tried making pot roasts using different recipes and this was my favorite so far. I used the recipe on the back of the McCormick's Pot Roast Seasoning packet but used the veggies of my choice.

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless chuck

1 1/2 cups baby carrots

1 1/2 cups cut-up red potatoes

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 packet McCormick® Slow Cooker Pot Roast Seasoning

1 cup water

Serving size - 8-10

What To Do:

1. Grease crock-pot with Pam spray.

2. Place beef at the bottom of the slower cooker and layer with chopped veggies.

3. Mix seasoning mix and water until well blended. Pour over the beef and vegetables. Stir and cover.

4. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Stir well before serving.

I cooked for about 4 1/2 hours on high so it looks a bit mushy but it tasted incredible and was a very hearty meal.

Enjoy!

 

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Weekend Happenings

I finally got that relaxing weekend I had been craving which included some sleeping in (thanks to my new blackout curtains), shopping, vegging and a little QT with friends that came in town to visit.

On Friday night, K and I went out to try the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant that opened in town. It was SO good! K loved the steak he ordered and I had the best Caesar salad ever with some fall-off-the-bone ribs. Definitely recommend this place for good BBQ if you have one in the area.

 

On Saturday, I got the day to myself to do some errands and shopping while K went out with friends to do their live fantasy football draft. I picked up this 2-piece art set for our master bedroom from Marshall's.

K came home later in the evening with another piece of "decor" he wants displayed in our living room. Ummm no and no. LOL. This might have to go to his office or somewhere out of sight!

A couple friends from Tampa stayed the night with us after the football draft so we ordered some Italian food for dinner and hung out at the house.

On Sunday morning, I cooked up a breakfast casserole for our guests before they hit the road to head home. I spent the rest of the day Skyping with one of my best friends to help her plan her wedding in Barbados next year and did some stuff around the house.


The new artwork went up in our room. I think the wall still looks a little bare but it will do until we get the walls painted a darker color.

And then came time for more cooking. I told you I had a vegging kind of weekend. Grilled chicken peanut satay was on Sunday's dinner menu with sauce from Trader Joes, which is excellent!

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip. 

Friday's Flashback

Happy Friday!

I have no big plans for the weekend and I'm pretty damn excited about it. After a busy week at work, sometimes you need the weekend to recoup and relax. I do welcome some fun with friends but I prefer to run on a non-schedule.

I was excited to participate in Helene's Blog Auction yesterday and think it went pretty well. Thank you for those that placed a bid on my large ad space to advertise for 4 months straight on Martinis & Bikinis. I'm excited to find out who will be featured on my blog for the next several months :-)

This was me on Monday. I did some workouts at home over the weekend and never knew I was capable of kicking my own ass. I was sore and in pain all week but Monday and Tuesday were pretty bad. 

 

The ladies met up after work on Tuesday at a new spot in town called The Porch for some happy hour cocktails and appetizers. It was fun catching and planning a girls trips we want to do next year.

Another Ebates check arrived in the mail. I think it's pretty fabulous getting paid to shop. I signed up earlier this year and have already racked up about $115 in cash back.

Some goodies I scored from the Kate Spade sale last week. I had my eye on a few items and finally decided on a crossover purse (perfect for traveling) and the silver huggie earrings, which look so much better in person.

Lastly, this is so me specifically in the wine department.

Have a relaxing and fun weekend everyone!

Joining Amanda and Lauren today for their weekly Friday linkups.

Alex & Ani Charmed Arms

I recently started my Alex and Ani collection and I can't get enough of all the different ways to style these bangles. There's definitely a bracelet (or 10) for every girl out there.

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via Pinterest

via Instagram

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I tend to like the beach-themed bangles and the seahorse bangle happens to be the bangle of the month so that might be my next purchase. You get $5 off with code SEAHORSE on the Alex and Ani website.

Where should I go from here? Decision decisions...